BISHOP BOUMAN TO LEAD ELCA EVANGELICAL OUTREACH AND CONGREGATIONAL MISSION
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was elected Nov. 11 by the ELCA Church Council to a four-year appointment as executive director of ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission (EOCM) beginning Jan. 1, 2008. The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council met here Nov. 9-11. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.
"Saying good-bye is so incredibly difficult. I have shared so much of my life with the wonderful lives of the people of this synod and this metropolis. We went through Ground Zero together. We buried our dead and re-imagined the church in the wake of that tragedy," Bouman said. "We have planted so many new ministries among people who are 'the road not taken' by traditional Lutheranism."
"In some ways mission and ministry in the Metropolitan New York Synod has been 'going to school' on what mission and ministry are going to be like all across our country in the coming decades," Bouman said. "I've learned some things, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with the wider church," he said. "We have a lot to learn from each other, and it will be my joy to advocate and agitate for the missional heart of this church as the director of EOCM. I look forward to getting on the road with my many new colleagues who will share with me the ministries to which God has called them," Bouman said.
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, announced the council's unanimous election of Bouman here Nov. 13. "Bishop Bouman has exemplified in his parish and synodical ministries leadership that is Christ centered, Spirit gifted, biblically engaged, theologically formed and contextually shaped," Hanson said in a prepared statement. "He has a passion to proclaim Christ, make disciples and build up the church for the sake of the world." "Bishop Bouman developed a Diakonia program with over 800 graduates, some of whom are serving as pastors," Hanson said.
"Under his leadership over 35 new ministries have been initiated. Worship occurs in over 25 languages in the synod," he said. Hanson recalled that Bouman saw the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod through the challenges of dealing with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
He listed other "hallmarks" of Bouman's leadership as bishop: "accompanying those who live in poverty, working together for a more just society, extending hospitality to the immigrant, striving to become a multicultural, diverse church while building upon our strong global and ecumenical partnerships."
Bouman will succeed the Rev. Richard A. Magnus, who will retire Dec. 31. EOCM is a program unit of the ELCA. Its 149-member staff facilitates "the efforts of congregations, synods, and related institutions and agencies in reaching out in witness to the gospel to people in all contexts and cultures" across the United States and Caribbean. It works to develop new congregations and ministries, and to renew and equip existing ELCA ministries in evangelical outreach.
Born April 14, 1947, in Melrose Park, Ill., Bouman is a graduate of Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He earned a master of sacred theology degree and a doctorate in ministry from New York Theological Seminary, New York. General Theological Seminary, New York, awarded him an honorary doctor of divinity degree in 2001.
Ordained in 1973 by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Bouman served as pastor of Christ and St. Jacobus Lutheran Church, Woodside, Queens, N.Y., and Atonement Lutheran Church, Jackson Heights, Queens, N.Y. His pastoral call was transferred to the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) in 1977, and he served as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Bogota, N.J., from 1982 to 1992. The AELC, American Lutheran Church and Lutheran Church in America formed the ELCA in 1988. In 1992 Bouman became an assistant to the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Metropolitan New York Synod and in 1996 was elected to succeed the Rev. James E. Sudbrock as bishop. The synod elected Bouman to a second six-year term as bishop in 2002.
Bouman is author of several articles, curricula, devotionals and books, including "From the Parish for the Life of the World," published in 2000 by Augsburg Fortress, and "Grace All Around Us," published in 2007 by Augsburg Books. Augsburg Fortress is the publishing ministry of the ELCA. Bouman and his wife Janet are the parents of three adult children.
VISION OF HOPE
“Preparing for a new bishop”
On Monday, November 11, I received the announcement from Synod headquarters that our bishop, Stephen Bouman, accepted the call to serve as executive director of ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission Unit in Chicago beginning January 1, 2008.
I was not “shocked” by the news, but it has had an effect on my thinking ever since, especially as I reflect on my role in providing leadership for our synod’s Commission for Evangelical Outreach. Over the past five years I have been actively engaged in the task of helping our bishop to make the Metropolitan New York Synod a “Great Commission Synod,” and I have been encouraged by the support given by our bishop to the ambitious agenda we were undertaking. We are seeking to bring about nothing less than a total transformation of our synod, the second oldest synod in what is now the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
We’ve worked hard to change from a synod that has was declining in numbers and spirit into an innovative, forward-looking, missionally-oriented, ground-breaking leader in the overall ministry of the ELCA. Now we face an uncertain future once more.
For Lutherans in the United States, the office of bishop is not a very powerful one. One person recently opined that the main power that a bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has is to approve letters of call issued by congregations seeking a new pastor.
I don’t know if that is really true, but I do believe that a bishop has enormous power that can be exercised in a very significant way if the bishop has the courage to use it. That power is in the area of providing leadership in setting the course for a synod. The bishop can influence many by making a case for moving in a particular direction because there are many who seek that kind of leadership. James MacGregor Burns in his book called Leadership described that sort of power as “transformational power.” Translated into our setting, that kind of power is able to set the course for the entire synod and summon our greatest and most passionate efforts to see the vision become a reality.
While our bishop has been criticized by some for taking politically-charged stands on issues such as the ordination of gay clergy and immigration, I believe he has done a good job at supporting and encouraging all our clergy and laity to focus on the true center of the church’s mission in the world. He has lifted up the challenge to reclaim the Great Commission as the main agenda for our efforts as a synod, and many of us have stepped forward to meet it.
I hope and I pray that the new bishop we elect next February will be more than just a “maintenance bishop” elected to take over as Captain of the “M.N.Y.S. Titanic.” Our synod may at times have looked a lot like a sinking ship, but I believe that God still has plans for us in Metro New York. I am convinced that our efforts can make an enormous difference not just for the Lutheran churches in Metro New York but throughout the United States. Under Bishop Bouman’s leadership in his new post, we will have a strong ally in our work of making the Great Commission a reality. May God bless him and us through him.
With Love,
Pastor Hill
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